Expert-Led Training: Proven Methods, Real Transformations

Calling all BIG feelings dogs! Whether your dog demonstrates his feelings loudly and with big actions, or quietly and suppressed, this class is for you. We’re going to take a deep dive into the Control Unleashed skills that work best for our big feelings dogs. In addition to addressing general calming techniques and patterns and take a look at lifestyle and environment, we will also tackle the complex CU skill of Look At That (LAT).

This class will cover International Dog Parkour levels training, novice, intermediate, expert and championship. It is designed for those new to parkour as well as those wanting to train the higher levels or work on their championship journey. It is ALL the things parkour :)

Is your dog worried about the noises around her? This class is for you! Whether the issue is in your house with your dog barking at the sounds outside, or you have a dog that can't go out because buildings creak and doors slam, this class can help. If your dog barks at what he hears and stresses up, or shakes and withdraws and stresses down, we can work to make him feel more at ease. Noise issues tend to get worse if we don't step in and help, so dogs really need us to have a solid plan to intervene and help them through this emotional challenge!

Regardless of the breed, when a dog nails their free stack in the ring… it is the total WOW factor! In this class, we will take free stacking, handler mechanics, fitness, gaiting and more to the next level. We will be breaking down the behaviors and building the muscles that go into developing a SHOWY show dog. We will also work on a conditioning routine meant to keep your show dog in show shape. There will be work on both ends of the lead.

Does your dog seem uncomfortable with men? Is she afraid of the teeter, plastic bags or enclosed spaces? Does he seem stressed out? Many performance dogs (and companion dogs, too!) develop challenges like these, and solving these issues positively will hinge on your understanding of the fundamentals!

Anyone who has a fearful dog needs a thorough grounding in basic behavior modification concepts before attempting rehabilitation. How does desensitization work in real life? Is it ok to comfort a fearful dog? In this course we will go over the fundamentals of fear in dogs, what we often do as owners that makes it worse, and modern approaches to fixing it. This will be a Silver and Bronze level course only, with lecture and discussion, and is a pre-requisite for the Practical Applications course. 

Not all dogs are high drive. In fact, most dogs fall into the average- to lower-drive range, and it can be more challenging to motivate them. Handlers often assume they can’t increase a dog’s arousal—that the dog is simply “that way.” But that’s not necessarily true. In many cases, we can increase arousal; we just need to be creative.

It takes some time to develop your eye, and hands to get an idea of how your performance dog's body is feeling.

If you compete in Rally, lateral movement is a requirement, but even if you just want to teach your dog a more solid understanding of heel, this skill is a good one to have. I use sidesteps all the time when I’m heeling, to help bring the dog closer to me, reduce crabbing, and straighten out crooked sits.

Play is about more than the toy or the game. It’s a shared experience, shaped by the relationship between dog and handler. The presence, timing, energy, and expectations of the handler influence how a dog experiences engagement, effort, and arousal. This workshop explores play through a relational lens, focusing on how connection, shared intent, and co-regulation support a dog’s ability to stay present and engaged.

Many handlers notice that engagement shifts depending on how involved they are, or that play feels easy one moment and strained the next. Rather than teaching specific games or techniques, this session invites participants to observe how their dog responds within the relationship itself. How does the dog change when the handler is more active, more still, more directive, or more responsive? How does connection support your dog, and when might it ask more than they’re ready to give? How does your dog respond to closeness, interaction, and attention? What does mutual engagement look like for different dogs, and how does it shift under excitement or stress?

Participants will learn how to recognize relational patterns in play, understand why some dogs are more socially driven than object-driven, and explore how small changes in interaction can support regulation, clarity, and trust. By the end of this workshop, handlers often find they feel more confident reading their dog’s responses and more intentional about how they show up in play. This workshop is designed for handlers who want to deepen their understanding of their dog, refine how they engage, and use engagement as a way to notice, adjust, and respond more intentionally.

We invest countless hours teaching behaviors and building chains that look beautiful in training—only to step into the ring and watch everything fall apart. What happened? Why does the dog suddenly struggle?